Critics of David Cameron's decision to increase foreign aid to Pakistan came under fire today after it emerged that fewer than one per cent of Pakistanis paid any income tax.

A cross-party group of MPs warned that British taxpayers should no longer be made to bail out Pakistan's poor when wealthy Pakistanis refuse to pay taxes themselves.

Revelations about the scale of tax avoidance in Pakistan come as the UK prepares to boost its aid to the country by nearly £180m.

The International Development Select Committee warns that ‘corruption is rife’ in Pakistan and that the local elite ‘does not pay meaningful amounts of tax’.

Those accused of not paying all the tax they should include President Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

The UK government has announced plans to end aid to India by 2015, but at the same time the amount of money going to its neighbour Pakistan is set to soar from £267 million now to £446 million in 2014/15, making it the biggest recipient of foreign aid.

During their inquiry MPs were told that while one in three people in Pakistan live on less than 30p a day, around 70 per cent of the nation’s MPs do not file a tax return. The country has one of the smallest tax bases in the world, with only 0.57 per cent of Pakistanis paying income tax last year.

Critics say while some of them pay tax on their official salary, it is often negligible compared to the the tax they ought to pay over all their undeclared income streams.

The MPs today demand that Prime Minister David Cameron pushes for action on corruption and tax evasion from Pakistan’s leaders.

And the Committee is calling for the Government to use its influence within the International Monetary Fund to press for urgent reform of the tax system.

Most British money sent to Pakistan goes towards education, health and governance issues.

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But the report takes aim at the Department for International Development (Dfid) for failing to put action to tackle corruption, failures of the rule of law and low tax collection at the top of the agenda for its governance work in Pakistan.

The MPs conclude: ‘Any increase in the UK’s official development assistance to Pakistan must be conditional on Pakistan increasing its tax collection and widening the tax base.

‘We cannot expect the people in the UK to pay taxes to improve education and health in Pakistan if the Pakistan elite is not paying income tax.

‘We cannot advocate that the British people finance, through taxation, the proposed substantial increase in development assistance to Pakistan unless there is clear evidence that the newly elected Pakistan Government is also willing to make the necessary changes so as to contribute more to improving the livelihood of its people.’

The findings of MPs led by Malcolm Bruce, left, will anger critics of David Cameron's commitment to foreign aid

In a damning indictment of the Pakistani elite, the MPs conclude: ‘Corruption is rife in a social order based on patronage and kinship networks.

'Pakistan’s rich do not pay taxes and exhibit little interest in improving conditions and opportunities for Pakistan’s poor.’

The committee said that there was a 'powerful case' for continuing UK aid.

'Britain enjoys a close relationship and has long established ties with Pakistan which has real poverty and serious security problems.

Poverty continues to be a serious problem in Pakistan, where one in three lives on less than 30p a day

‘Many people in Pakistan who live below the poverty line gain from the projects supported by the UK Department for International Development’s valuable programmes in education, health and governance.

‘But the committee is concerned that not enough tax is raised in Pakistan to fully finance improvements in the quality of life for poor people.

'In particular, we cannot expect people in the UK to pay taxes to improve education and health in Pakistan if the Pakistani elite does not pay meaningful amounts of income tax.

‘Pakistan’s rich must in turn demonstrate a clearer commitment to improving conditions and basic opportunities for all their fellow citizens by paying more in tax than they do under present arrangements.’

A spokesman for the Dfid told MailOnline tax reform was needed in Pakistan 'from the top down'.

He said: 'This IDC report rightly sets out the urgent need for the incoming Pakistan government to deliver tax reform.

'That reform must start from the top down, with elected politicians and the wealthiest in Pakistan showing a commitment to reform by submitting tax returns and paying tax due.

'The UK government is clear that UK development assistance in Pakistan is predicated on a commitment to economic and tax reform and to helping lift the poorest out of poverty.

'We have made it clear to government and opposition politicians in Pakistan that it is not sustainable for British tax payers to fund development spend if Pakistan is not building up its own stable tax take.

'Following the election we will make available practical assistance to the incoming government to help deliver reform of the Pakistan tax system and work with the IMF, but tax and economic reform must take place.'

Sir Gerald Howarth, the Tory MP for Aldershot, said that for Britain to continue to devote 0.7 per cent of its expenditure to aid did not make sense, and added that spending at such a rate would mean cuts to our own defence budget.

He told The Times: 'It is not right that the British taxpayer, particularly in these times of austerity, should be shelling out aid. They are subsidising tax avoidance in Pakistan. It is simply outrageous. '

But Pakistan's High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan said that the country was now cracking down on tax avoidance, with those who did not pay tax now banned from running for office.

He said Britain should continue to prop up the country after its infrastructure had been destroyed by warring in the area.

Mr Hasan told theBBC: 'I would say that they [Britain] should continue paying knowing well what sort of problems we have [been] put into by this 30-year-long war against terrorism in the region...'

'We have spent $67bn (£44bn) since 2011 in this war against terror, our infrastructure has been destroyed, our education has been destroyed.'